Town Meetings 2013

Hillsboro-Deering district gives 24 employees notice of possible reduction in staff

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Ten percent of the teachers and 20 percent of the support staff in Hillsboro-Deering School District received notice Friday that a reduction in force is being considered in response to budget cuts approved by voters at last week’s district meeting. Last night, after nearly an hour-long nonpublic meeting, the school board postponed any decisions on the budget because one member was absent and the teachers union requested time to prepare … 11

Hillsboro-Deering High School music teacher Heidi Welch is named New Hampshire Teacher of the Year during an assembly at the school; Monday, October 1, 2012.

( Alexander Cohn/ Monitor staff)

Hillsboro-Deering budget cuts make state Teacher of the Year consider sending her child elsewhere for school

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Noah Welch is 3 years old, and a good part of his world revolves around the Hillsboro-Deering School District. His dad, Randy Welch, used to be a school board member and a school psychologist at Hillsboro-Deering High School, where Noah’s two sisters attend. And his mom, Heidi Welch, is the school music teacher, … 6

Mel Gendron listens to the presentation by the Dunbarton School board at the school meeting on Saturday, March 16, 2013. More than 500 people packed the Dunbarton Elementary School gym to attend the meeting.

(ALEXANDER COHN / Monitor staff)

Photos: The beards of town meeting season

Monday, March 18, 2013

Are beards at home at town meetings the same way the wearing of flannel and public displays of knitting are? Can one judge a town’s style by what is observed at town meeting? These are questions that we feel need to be asked this season. In the meantime we can observe and report … 0

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Ronald Briggs of Epsom places a flower in memory of his nephew, Michel Briggs, in a wreath during the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony; Friday, May 17, 2013. The names of 44 officers who died in the line of duty were read

ALEXANDER COHN / Monitor staff

PHOTOS: Event honors officers killed in line of duty in N.H.

Amy McKean loads a box of T-shirts into a vehicle with Rock 'N Race team coordinator Donna Killion at St. Peter's Church in Concord; Tuesday, May 14, 2013. McKean's Rock 'N Race team, Amy's Advocates, raises more money for the Concord Hospital fundraiser than any other team. A survivor of Hodgkins Lymphoma, McKean organizes a team that now number 127 runners and walkers. Though it is the second-largest team, it has raised more money over the last few years than any other group.
(ALEXANDER COHN / Monitor staff)

Ray Duckler: Amy and her Advocates raise money for Concord cancer center like no other team

Joseph Foster is interviewed by WMUR before the ceremony where he is sworn in as state Attorney General on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 in the Executive Council Chambers at the State House.

(ANDREA MORALES / Monitor staff)

PHOTOS: Incoming Attorney General Joe Foster’s swearing-in ceremony

Other Local News

Dunbarton to ship its students to Bow in 2014

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Dunbarton residents voted yesterday to begin shipping their middle and high school students to Bow next year, a decision that ends nearly two years of negotiations and comes as Bow grapples with dwindling enrollment. The 298-101 vote followed … 0

Grants will help offset spending in Henniker

Sunday, March 17, 2013

“How do you eat an elephant? You eat an elephant one bite at a time.” Those were selectmen Chairman Kris Blomback’s words to open the Henniker town meeting yesterday. By the end of the day, voters indeed approved the town’s $3 million operating budget, bite by bite. But … 1

Chichester voters double up on road maintenance

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Chichester voters addressed a hard-to-ignore problem at yesterday’s town meeting, approving $373,000 worth of improvements to two of the town’s most deteriorated roads. The improvements are part of a four-year plan to reconstruct 5.5 miles of road and a longer-term proposal to upgrade 18.5 miles of paved road … 0

Northfield voters invest in road repairs

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Northfield’s most battered roads will be improved over the next few years after voters at yesterday’s town meeting agreed to spend $334,000 on the first stage of repairs. Launching the project required several votes, including one to appropriate the money and another to allow the selectmen to spend … 0

Tilton votes to begin pay-as-you-throw, curbside recycling pickup this summer

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Tilton residents voted yesterday to introduce a pay-as-you-throw system for trash, starting June 1. The vote of 70-37 at yesterday’s annual town meeting approved adding $45,000 to a new fund to cover the program’s start-up costs, and means … 0

Loudon draws from savings to address needs

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Some town meetings start early and continue late into the evening. Some town meetings involve complicated parliamentary motions, angry speeches and budgetary nitpicking. Some meetings drag on so slowly that the moderator has to call a lunch break. Not Loudon. At least not this year. In just two … 0

Article on Bradford town hall restoration to be reconsidered

Friday, March 15, 2013

An article seeking a two-thirds vote to approve a $1.8 million bond to restore Bradford Town Hall will be reconsidered in a new vote on an undetermined date. Votes will not be not recounted, as the Monitor reported yesterday. The tally at Wednesday’s town meeting showed residents favoring … 0

Two Hill fire department vehicles deemed old; not budget committee, though

Friday, March 15, 2013

Hill’s fire department is replacing two outdated vehicles with one new one, while the budget committee, voters decided at last night’s town meeting, still has some value and will live to see another year. Those were the lone articles decided by ballot vote during a small and quick … 0

Hopkinton residents to decide on $1.3 million town garage replacement

Friday, March 15, 2013

It’s not easy to convince a crowd that a gleaming new highway garage is a fiscal priority. That’s what Jim O’Brien has learned since first proposing a $1.3 million replacement for the former Hopkinton garage, which was destroyed in a fire last June. O’Brien, chairman of the board … 0

Henniker voters approve $6.9 million school district budget

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Henniker voters approved a $6.9 million school district budget and a one-year contract with teachers last night, after heated debate and two secret ballot votes. The approved budget increases $164,900 over the budget approved at last year’s district meeting. The contract adds about $75,000 for a 2.5 percent … 0

Newbury voters shoot down dock expansion, renovation

Thursday, March 14, 2013

A contentious renovation and expansion of the dock at Newbury Harbor won’t go forward as a result of last night’s town meeting. Voters spent the most time discussing the issue, which was tabled at last year’s meeting. The article asked whether $85,250 should be appropriated for the renovation … 0

Bow voters reject $7.7 million safety facility after opponents question costs

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Bow residents last night narrowly rejected a $7.7 million public safety building after several opponents expressed deep skepticism over the need for such an elaborate and costly facility. The vote, 189-164, which was read just before 11 p.m., fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass. “My … 1

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